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Feature Comics Vol 1 31
Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * Grimes Other Characters: * Timmy Smith * Mr. Griffin Locations: * ** Central Park ** Dr. Roberts' Laboratory ** Mr. Griffin's Hotel ** Old Grimes Estate Items: * Grimes' paralyzing gas Vehicles: * Smith's gas-powered remote-control model airplane | StoryTitle2 = Jane Arden // Lena Pry | Synopsis2 = (Newspaper strip reprints) | Writer2_1 = Monte Barrett | Penciler2_1 = Russell E. Ross | Inker2_1 = Russell E. Ross | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * Jane Arden (across top halves of pages) * Lena Pry(across bottom halves of pages) | Writer3_1 = Vernon Henkel | Penciler3_1 = Vernon Henkel | Inker3_1 = Vernon Henkel | StoryTitle3 = Captain Fortune: "The Wicked Duke" | Synopsis3 = | Appearing3 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Will Kentshire, First Officer ** crew of the "Revenge" Antagonists: * Duke Edward of Kent Other Characters: * Earl of Essex * Lady Essex Locations: * North * ** ** Balomar Castle, in Essex ** Tavern near Essex Vehicles: * English Privateer Galleon "Revenge" | Writer5_1 = Ham Fisher | Penciler5_1 = Ham Fisher | Inker5_1 = Ham Fisher | StoryTitle5 = Joe Palooka | Synopsis5 = (newspaper strip reprints) | Appearing5 = Featured Characters: * Joe Palooka Supporting Characters: * Knobby Walsh | Writer6_1 = William Smith | Penciler6_1 = William Smith | Inker6_1 = William Smith | StoryTitle6 = Rance Keane: "Cal Hennings's Rustlers" | Synopsis6 = | Appearing6 = Featured Characters: * , the Knight of the West Supporting Characters: * Pee Wee Lee Antagonists: * Cal Hennings (as "Nate Whelan, U.S. Deputy") ** his rustlers Other Characters: * Local Sheriff Locations: * Southwestern United States ** Rocky Gulch | Writer7_1 = George E. Brenner | Penciler7_1 = George E. Brenner | Inker7_1 = George E. Brenner | StoryTitle7 = The Clock: "The Poison Gas Formula" | Synopsis7 = Brian O'Brien does some recreational flying in his personal biplane, when he hears a bulletin: a deadly new poison gas has been stolen; the thieves have escaped by air; "a description of the plane follows ..." Almost immediately O'Brien spots exactly that airplane nearby. (Both of these planes are 2-cockpit biplanes with red bodies and yellow wings and tails.) Frustrated by a problem with his plane's machine guns, O'Brien flies into position over the getaway plane, puts on his mask, climbs out on the wing, and dives into the enemy plane, leaving his own plane to crash. There's a fistfight on the getaway plane, one of the two spies falls to his death, the other yields the stolen formula after The Clock safely lands the plane. He also reveals that Heizer, a chemist, has a copy of the formula, and is cooking up a batch of the gas right now, in an old barn on the post road. O'Brien leaves this guy tied to a tree, rents a motorcycle, goes looking for this barn, finds it, and crashes through its doors. Heizer is inside and has just finished a batch of gas and has on a gas mask, so Heizer throws a tube of gas, which floods the room but fails to faze the Clock, who punches out Heizer and leaves him for the cops. O'Brien later confides his theory to Captain Kane, that the Clock's mask had gotten wet, stuck to his face, and filtered out the deadly gas. Kane seemed to accept this explanation with no further questions. | Appearing7 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Benny, O'Brien's airplane mechanic Antagonists: * Heizer * Fritz * Carl Other Characters: * Captain Kane Locations: * Area Vehicles: * O'Brien's Biplane | Writer9_1 = Bob Powell | Penciler9_1 = Bob Powell | Inker9_1 = Bob Powell | StoryTitle9 = Spin Shaw: "Jasper Orin, Gun Runner" | Synopsis9 = The onset of war and resulting Arms Embargo has driven up the price of illicit armaments. Notorious gun smuggler Jasper Orin has sped up his operation, and now is flying weapons from Oklahoma to Mexico. Working from an Army airbase in Texas, Captain "Spin" Shaw commands a crack squadron of Navy fighter pilots, on a patrol, which encounters one of Orin's freight planes. By radio they order the plane to land but the smuggler pilot tries to run for it. Spin Shaw fires a few rounds into their fuselage and they give up. But that's all the giving up they do, none of them squeals on their boss. The next day, Orin sends a different plane along the same route; it's a B-17. This time the smugglers knock down one patrol plane, and escape into Mexico. Capt. Shaw decides he needs to infiltrate the smuggler gang. A week later in Mexico City, calling himself "Tom Smith," Shaw gets himself hired by the smuggling operation. Smith's first mission is to fly the B-17 back to Orin's airbase near Oklahoma City, and Orin himself comes along for the ride. Spin sends a coded message to the Army Air Corps, and his patrol squadron takes off on an intercepting course. When they meet up, Jasper Orin pulls a gun on "Smith," and orders him to run for the border. Spin ignores him and keeps losing altitude, but when the gunnery stations on the Flying Fortress open fire on the approaching fighters, Shaw yanks the 4-engined behemoth into a loop maneuver, knocking all the gunners loose from their weapons. Before that's complete, he's out of his seat and pummeling Orin, who doesn't even manage to get off one shot. Meanwhile the giant aircraft is spinning earthward, out of control. Jumping back to the stick, Spin idles the engines and brings the bomber into a long glide, soon making a very bumpy but mostly safe landing, in rural Texas. The gang is soon rounded up. Afterward Spin enjoys giving his Army pals a good ribbing, about how well his Navy fliers performed. | Appearing9 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Shaw's detachment of Navy Pilots Antagonists: * Jasper Orin ** his smuggling gang: Red Gordon, others Other Characters: * Mike, Spin's Army Officer Friend Locations: * ** * ** U.S. Army Air Base * Vehicles: * U.S.Navy antique fighter planes * Orin's cargo plane * Orin's B-17 Flying Fortress | StoryTitle11 = Ned Brant | Synopsis11 = (newspaper strip reprints) | Writer11_1 = Bob Zuppke | Penciler11_1 = R.W. Depew | Inker11_1 = R.W. Depew | Appearing11 = Featured Characters: * Ned Brant Supporting Characters: * Bud Shekels | StoryTitle12 = Charlie Chan: "The Dr. Croft Ruby Mystery, Part 2" | Synopsis12 = (newspaper strip reprints) | Writer12_1 = Alfred Andriola | Penciler12_1 = Alfred Andriola | Inker12_1 = Alfred Andriola | Appearing12 = Featured Characters: * Charlie Chan Supporting Characters: * Kirk Barrow * Gina Lane Antagonists: * Ali Abu, Indian Prince * Lawrence Trent, Croft's nephew Other Characters: * Dr. Croft * Claudia Gaylord, Croft's sister * Wicker, Croft's butler Locations: * Items: * "pigeon blood" rubies | StoryTitle14 = Reynolds of the Mounted: "The Escaped Convicts" | Synopsis14 = | Writer14_1 = Art Pinajian | Penciler14_1 = Art Pinajian | Inker14_1 = Art Pinajian | Appearing14 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * ** Reynolds' C.O. Antagonists: * Blackie * Mike Other Characters: * Red Brown * Widow Brown * RCMP Pilot, also named Jim Locations: * ** North Woods Vehicles: * RCMP long-range airplane | StoryTitle16 = Mickey Finn | Synopsis16 = (newspaper strip reprints) | Writer16_1 = Lank Leonard | Penciler16_1 = Lank Leonard | Inker16_1 = Lank Leonard | Appearing16 = Featured Characters: * Mickey Finn Supporting Characters: * Uncle Phil | Notes = * Last issue for Charlie Chan. * In Doll Man, everybody at Roberts' Laboratory is at work on Sunday, including the owner, his daughter, and their star chemist Darrel Dane; something important must be happening there. * After this issue, [[Brian O'Brien (Quality Universe)|'The Clock']] next appears in May 1940, and continues there until Autumn 1944. * Last issue for Slim & Tubby. * In Spin Shaw: ** A newspaper headline says: "WAR DECLARED! U.S. to enforce Arms Embargo!" ** Spin and his squadron fly open-cockpit fighter planes with fixed landing gear, and the smugglers have got a Flying Fortress. * Also featured in this issue of Feature Comics were: ** "Big Top" (newspaper strip reprints) by John Devlin ** Mortimer Mum by Bill Sakren (bottom halves of the "Toddy" pages) ** Toddy by George Marcoux (top halves of the "Mortimer Mum" pages) ** Off the Record by Ed Reed ** "Lala Palooza" (newspaper strip reprints) by John Devlin ** Slim and Tubby: "Episode 31" (newspaper strip reprints) by John J. Welch ** "Magic on the Rink" (text story) by Robert E. Jones ** The Bungle Family: "Open Season On Car Salesmen" and "Friends" (newspaper strip reprints) by H.J. Tuthill ** They're Still Talking: "About Mike McTigue's Grand Display of Gameness", by Bob Zuppke and R.W. Depew ** Dixie Dugan (newspaper strip reprints) by J.P. McEvoy and J.H. Striebel ** Rube Goldberg's Side Show (newspaper strip reprints) by Rube Goldberg | Trivia = * Will Eisner signs his Doll Man stories as "William Erwin Maxwell". | Recommended = | Links = * Read Feature Comics #31 entire issue online. }}